Ive been through the whole thread and can't find anyone who confessed to going to my old school. Mind you, you did need to be at least a little eccentric to get in there.
Roughly the same years as you I think, 1972 or 73 until Jan 77 when the old man moved us oop north. I hated that school with a vengeance and Percy was well pleased to see the back of me!
St Thomas a Becket in Abbey Wood prior to that.
Ah good old Percy Black! Do you remember Tutters the history teacher? His favourite words (at least to me anyway) - YES YOU GET OUTSIDE!!
Percy Black was a scary little bugger, he once said to me that he caned me so often all the fun had gone out of it. I remember Tutters by name but nothing more, I didn't have him for lessons. Mike Wesson was my form teacher in the first year and also my maths teacher, I seem to remember a female PE teacher always hanging around him who the kids nicknamed Titty Thoms!
Jackie Metcalfe, Graham Nichols, Maggie Mountjoy, Mr Gough, Jim Austen and Mr Edgelar who was the headmaster are some of the teachers I do remember.
Most of those were there when I turned up. Percy retired not long after I got there and I remember a group of 6th formers got a policewoman stripogram for him on his last day in front of the whole school. Think he quite enjoyed it. Mike Wesson was my form tutor then Jesse James who smoked a pipe constantly during lessons.
Ha, I forgot him, that pipe was constantly alight and I'd loved to have seen Percy's stripogram lol
Ive been through the whole thread and can't find anyone who confessed to going to my old school. Mind you, you did need to be at least a little eccentric to get in there.
Roughly the same years as you I think, 1972 or 73 until Jan 77 when the old man moved us oop north. I hated that school with a vengeance and Percy was well pleased to see the back of me!
St Thomas a Becket in Abbey Wood prior to that.
Ah good old Percy Black! Do you remember Tutters the history teacher? His favourite words (at least to me anyway) - YES YOU GET OUTSIDE!!
Percy Black was a scary little bugger, he once said to me that he caned me so often all the fun had gone out of it. I remember Tutters by name but nothing more, I didn't have him for lessons. Mike Wesson was my form teacher in the first year and also my maths teacher, I seem to remember a female PE teacher always hanging around him who the kids nicknamed Titty Thoms!
Jackie Metcalfe, Graham Nichols, Maggie Mountjoy, Mr Gough, Jim Austen and Mr Edgelar who was the headmaster are some of the teachers I do remember.
Wesson also had a catch phrase - What the HELL do you think you are doing lad!
I had Percy for Physics. He was constantly telling us that if we passed our O Level we could get a cushy job with the Post Office. Probably true in those days.
Who was your History teacher? Tall guy with a lisp called Robinson?
As soon as I read that I could picture Wesson shouting that lol.
I had Percy for physics too which would have been in my 4th year starting in the summer of 76 (what a summer) until Jan 77 when I left for Stockport.
Strangely enough after all these years, I can still remember the first few names on my class register. Braund, Clark, Corrie, Cotteral, Davies, Green and Grix. Tye, Wheeler and Wooledge are some other names I remember, any of them ring a bell although I think I was one year below you?
I can't for the life of me remember my history teacher but a Robinson with a lisp certainly doesn't ring any bells.
Ive been through the whole thread and can't find anyone who confessed to going to my old school. Mind you, you did need to be at least a little eccentric to get in there.
Roughly the same years as you I think, 1972 or 73 until Jan 77 when the old man moved us oop north. I hated that school with a vengeance and Percy was well pleased to see the back of me!
St Thomas a Becket in Abbey Wood prior to that.
Ah good old Percy Black! Do you remember Tutters the history teacher? His favourite words (at least to me anyway) - YES YOU GET OUTSIDE!!
Percy Black was a scary little bugger, he once said to me that he caned me so often all the fun had gone out of it. I remember Tutters by name but nothing more, I didn't have him for lessons. Mike Wesson was my form teacher in the first year and also my maths teacher, I seem to remember a female PE teacher always hanging around him who the kids nicknamed Titty Thoms!
Jackie Metcalfe, Graham Nichols, Maggie Mountjoy, Mr Gough, Jim Austen and Mr Edgelar who was the headmaster are some of the teachers I do remember.
Wesson also had a catch phrase - What the HELL do you think you are doing lad!
I had Percy for Physics. He was constantly telling us that if we passed our O Level we could get a cushy job with the Post Office. Probably true in those days.
Who was your History teacher? Tall guy with a lisp called Robinson?
As soon as I read that I could picture Wesson shouting that lol.
I had Percy for physics too which would have been in my 4th year starting in the summer of 76 (what a summer) until Jan 77 when I left for Stockport.
Strangely enough after all these years, I can still remember the first few names on my class register. Braund, Clark, Corrie, Cotteral, Davies, Green and Grix. Tye, Wheeler and Wooledge are some other names I remember, any of them ring a bell although I think I was one year below you?
I can't for the life of me remember my history teacher but a Robinson with a lisp certainly doesn't ring any bells.
Len Hollingsworth was my History teacher a few years on, and there was that batty old French teacher, can't remember her name.
Ive been through the whole thread and can't find anyone who confessed to going to my old school. Mind you, you did need to be at least a little eccentric to get in there.
Roughly the same years as you I think, 1972 or 73 until Jan 77 when the old man moved us oop north. I hated that school with a vengeance and Percy was well pleased to see the back of me!
St Thomas a Becket in Abbey Wood prior to that.
Ah good old Percy Black! Do you remember Tutters the history teacher? His favourite words (at least to me anyway) - YES YOU GET OUTSIDE!!
Percy Black was a scary little bugger, he once said to me that he caned me so often all the fun had gone out of it. I remember Tutters by name but nothing more, I didn't have him for lessons. Mike Wesson was my form teacher in the first year and also my maths teacher, I seem to remember a female PE teacher always hanging around him who the kids nicknamed Titty Thoms!
Jackie Metcalfe, Graham Nichols, Maggie Mountjoy, Mr Gough, Jim Austen and Mr Edgelar who was the headmaster are some of the teachers I do remember.
Wesson also had a catch phrase - What the HELL do you think you are doing lad!
I had Percy for Physics. He was constantly telling us that if we passed our O Level we could get a cushy job with the Post Office. Probably true in those days.
Who was your History teacher? Tall guy with a lisp called Robinson?
As soon as I read that I could picture Wesson shouting that lol.
I had Percy for physics too which would have been in my 4th year starting in the summer of 76 (what a summer) until Jan 77 when I left for Stockport.
Strangely enough after all these years, I can still remember the first few names on my class register. Braund, Clark, Corrie, Cotteral, Davies, Green and Grix. Tye, Wheeler and Wooledge are some other names I remember, any of them ring a bell although I think I was one year below you?
I can't for the life of me remember my history teacher but a Robinson with a lisp certainly doesn't ring any bells.
From the dates you were definitely one year below me. As for your classmates, I kind of remember someone called Billy Wheeler...
Ive been through the whole thread and can't find anyone who confessed to going to my old school. Mind you, you did need to be at least a little eccentric to get in there.
Roughly the same years as you I think, 1972 or 73 until Jan 77 when the old man moved us oop north. I hated that school with a vengeance and Percy was well pleased to see the back of me!
St Thomas a Becket in Abbey Wood prior to that.
Ah good old Percy Black! Do you remember Tutters the history teacher? His favourite words (at least to me anyway) - YES YOU GET OUTSIDE!!
Percy Black was a scary little bugger, he once said to me that he caned me so often all the fun had gone out of it. I remember Tutters by name but nothing more, I didn't have him for lessons. Mike Wesson was my form teacher in the first year and also my maths teacher, I seem to remember a female PE teacher always hanging around him who the kids nicknamed Titty Thoms!
Jackie Metcalfe, Graham Nichols, Maggie Mountjoy, Mr Gough, Jim Austen and Mr Edgelar who was the headmaster are some of the teachers I do remember.
Wesson also had a catch phrase - What the HELL do you think you are doing lad!
I had Percy for Physics. He was constantly telling us that if we passed our O Level we could get a cushy job with the Post Office. Probably true in those days.
Who was your History teacher? Tall guy with a lisp called Robinson?
As soon as I read that I could picture Wesson shouting that lol.
I had Percy for physics too which would have been in my 4th year starting in the summer of 76 (what a summer) until Jan 77 when I left for Stockport.
Strangely enough after all these years, I can still remember the first few names on my class register. Braund, Clark, Corrie, Cotteral, Davies, Green and Grix. Tye, Wheeler and Wooledge are some other names I remember, any of them ring a bell although I think I was one year below you?
I can't for the life of me remember my history teacher but a Robinson with a lisp certainly doesn't ring any bells.
Len Hollingsworth was my History teacher a few years on, and there was that batty old French teacher, can't remember her name.
I cannot believe it - after all these years. Dartford Technical High School, Wilmington.
I preceded most of you guys 1960-1968. Though as "an old boy" I did come back to coach the school football 2nd XI for a short period probably 71/72.
I joined the year after a certain Keith Richards was asked "to pursue alternative arrangements".
Mountjoy always said once you learned to speak French in her pronunciation style - you would never have problem in France. Like hell - no one understood a bloody word.
Percy Black was a vicious self important little bugger suffering from "short man syndrome". He would be prosecuted for assault today.
He was late for a lesson one day, rushed into the classroom, went to rush out again saying "I'll be here in a minute" - I simply commented, as he went out the door "Well you are here now" , at which point he rushed back in made me stand up (I was about a foot taller even then) and promptly slapped me round the face "for my cheek!. That said he was decent teacher and "off campus" was quite a character.
Jessie James was hilariously useless when "covering" PE lessons. He refereed football matches never moving from the half way line - smoking a cigarette and more often than not holding an umbrella. Bit of a sad character he seemed to live for his Austin Cambridge.
Lawson the history teacher was OK - I always remembered his graphic for the great fire of London - it took half a lesson to draw it.
Hollingsworth was a decent guy until he was on the football pitch where he turned into a pathetic bully - he had a bullet shot and was happy trying to kick the "s**t" out of 14yr olds.
My best contact from those days was Patrick Rudman - the hippie styled English Teacher (he had gone to school at Dartford Grammar when Mick Jagger had just started there) whose nickname I recall was "Lurch". Patrick was a good cricketer, I later played with him at Old Dartfordians and a very decent football coach. Paradoxically as a roll your own fags, Carlsberg Special Brew six pack drinking, fruit machine addict he later managed Darenth Heathside in the Metropolitan and Greater London Leagues pretty successfully.
I remember other teacher names like Upton, Moyle, Parker, "Pinhead" Smith, the notorious Bruce. The latter was an unlikeable specimen operating as a passably efficient Physics & Chemistry teacher. His notoriety arose from his divorce when in the local and I believe the national press he was identified as an alleged drinker, who allegedly rarely washed and allegedly had not cut his toe nails in over 20/25yrs. Ugh
The best teacher there was guy well before your time - a geography teacher by the name of Cartwright who about 6ft 6 was an eminently likeable guy. I have never known anyone not only so passionate about his subject but also able to communicate and spread that passion to others.
Two names I annoyingly cannot remember - one was the Applied Mathematics Teacher who was absolutely brilliant. The problem was he had a photographic memory and he used to throw endless bloody solutions on the blackboard which took me about a week to work how the hell he had gotten there.
The other was a Chemistry Teacher (may have been called Lewis) who also took Religious Education. An immensely quiet almost shy individual he was absolutely brilliant at opening up a serious adult debate on the religious and social issues of the day.
It was a decent school in a very nice if isolated location. I thoroughly enjoyed it there.
Ive been through the whole thread and can't find anyone who confessed to going to my old school. Mind you, you did need to be at least a little eccentric to get in there.
Roughly the same years as you I think, 1972 or 73 until Jan 77 when the old man moved us oop north. I hated that school with a vengeance and Percy was well pleased to see the back of me!
St Thomas a Becket in Abbey Wood prior to that.
Ah good old Percy Black! Do you remember Tutters the history teacher? His favourite words (at least to me anyway) - YES YOU GET OUTSIDE!!
Percy Black was a scary little bugger, he once said to me that he caned me so often all the fun had gone out of it. I remember Tutters by name but nothing more, I didn't have him for lessons. Mike Wesson was my form teacher in the first year and also my maths teacher, I seem to remember a female PE teacher always hanging around him who the kids nicknamed Titty Thoms!
Jackie Metcalfe, Graham Nichols, Maggie Mountjoy, Mr Gough, Jim Austen and Mr Edgelar who was the headmaster are some of the teachers I do remember.
Wesson also had a catch phrase - What the HELL do you think you are doing lad!
I had Percy for Physics. He was constantly telling us that if we passed our O Level we could get a cushy job with the Post Office. Probably true in those days.
Who was your History teacher? Tall guy with a lisp called Robinson?
As soon as I read that I could picture Wesson shouting that lol.
I had Percy for physics too which would have been in my 4th year starting in the summer of 76 (what a summer) until Jan 77 when I left for Stockport.
Strangely enough after all these years, I can still remember the first few names on my class register. Braund, Clark, Corrie, Cotteral, Davies, Green and Grix. Tye, Wheeler and Wooledge are some other names I remember, any of them ring a bell although I think I was one year below you?
I can't for the life of me remember my history teacher but a Robinson with a lisp certainly doesn't ring any bells.
From the dates you were definitely one year below me. As for your classmates, I kind of remember someone called Billy Wheeler...
That's right, Billy Wheeler aka Lilco! He wrote 'Lilco' all over that school, I doubt there was not a desk or chair that did not have that name written on it and nearly always in purple marker pen. It was a few years before anyone found out who was responsible.
The one lasting memory I have was the telegraph pole incident up the side of the sports hall (where the teachers and kids met up for a smoke). A lad, Gibbs I think his name was, was throwing a length of metal up in to the wires and every so often it would cause a massive shower of bright orange sparks. This obviously resulted in a large gathering of kids until there was an almighty bang, smoke and sparks were flying everywhere as the lines crashed down to the ground thrashing about, which was followed by about 100 kids fleeing for their lives in all directions. From memory, either the phone lines or power was out in Wilmington and the surrounding areas till the following day!
I cannot believe it - after all these years. Dartford Technical High School, Wilmington.
I preceded most of you guys 1960-1968. Though as "an old boy" I did come back to coach the school football 2nd XI for a short period probably 71/72.
I joined the year after a certain Keith Richards was asked "to pursue alternative arrangements".
Mountjoy always said once you learned to speak French in her pronunciation style - you would never have problem in France. Like hell - no one understood a bloody word.
Percy Black was a vicious self important little bugger suffering from "short man syndrome". He would be prosecuted for assault today.
He was late for a lesson one day, rushed into the classroom, went to rush out again saying "I'll be here in a minute" - I simply commented, as he went out the door "Well you are here now" , at which point he rushed back in made me stand up (I was about a foot taller even then) and promptly slapped me round the face "for my cheek!. That said he was decent teacher and "off campus" was quite a character.
Jessie James was hilariously useless when "covering" PE lessons. He refereed football matches never moving from the half way line - smoking a cigarette and more often than not holding an umbrella. Bit of a sad character he seemed to live for his Austin Cambridge.
Lawson the history teacher was OK - I always remembered his graphic for the great fire of London - it took half a lesson to draw it.
Hollingsworth was a decent guy until he was on the football pitch where he turned into a pathetic bully - he had a bullet shot and was happy trying to kick the "s**t" out of 14yr olds.
My best contact from those days was Patrick Rudman - the hippie styled English Teacher (he had gone to school at Dartford Grammar when Mick Jagger had just started there) whose nickname I recall was "Lurch". Patrick was a good cricketer, I later played with him at Old Dartfordians and a very decent football coach. Paradoxically as a roll your own fags, Carlsberg Special Brew six pack drinking, fruit machine addict he later managed Darenth Heathside in the Metropolitan and Greater London Leagues pretty successfully.
I remember other teacher names like Upton, Moyle, Parker, "Pinhead" Smith, the notorious Bruce. The latter was an unlikeable specimen operating as a passably efficient Physics & Chemistry teacher. His notoriety arose from his divorce when in the local and I believe the national press he was identified as an alleged drinker, who allegedly rarely washed and allegedly had not cut his toe nails in over 20/25yrs. Ugh
The best teacher there was guy well before your time - a geography teacher by the name of Cartwright who about 6ft 6 was an eminently likeable guy. I have never known anyone not only so passionate about his subject but also able to communicate and spread that passion to others.
Two names I annoyingly cannot remember - one was the Applied Mathematics Teacher who was absolutely brilliant. The problem was he had a photographic memory and he used to throw endless bloody solutions on the blackboard which took me about a week to work how the hell he had gotten there.
The other was a Chemistry Teacher (may have been called Lewis) who also took Religious Education. An immensely quiet almost shy individual he was absolutely brilliant at opening up a serious adult debate on the religious and social issues of the day.
It was a decent school in a very nice if isolated location. I thoroughly enjoyed it there.
Well it's very gratifying to know that one of the most intellectual posters on this forum was educated at the same humble establishment as myself!
Lawson was of course the infamous "Uncle Tutters", although I'm surprised you said he was OK because in my time everyone (Percy included) thought he was barking mad!
Bruce was known by the nickname Boot, and there was another physics teacher who was known by all as Gaffer. I remember Pinhead very well, but I think Lewis was before my time. Hammershlag (? Spelling) was the main chemistry teacher in my era.
I too absolutely enjoyed my time there and have many fond memories.
I cannot believe it - after all these years. Dartford Technical High School, Wilmington.
I preceded most of you guys 1960-1968. Though as "an old boy" I did come back to coach the school football 2nd XI for a short period probably 71/72.
I joined the year after a certain Keith Richards was asked "to pursue alternative arrangements".
Mountjoy always said once you learned to speak French in her pronunciation style - you would never have problem in France. Like hell - no one understood a bloody word.
Percy Black was a vicious self important little bugger suffering from "short man syndrome". He would be prosecuted for assault today.
He was late for a lesson one day, rushed into the classroom, went to rush out again saying "I'll be here in a minute" - I simply commented, as he went out the door "Well you are here now" , at which point he rushed back in made me stand up (I was about a foot taller even then) and promptly slapped me round the face "for my cheek!. That said he was decent teacher and "off campus" was quite a character.
Jessie James was hilariously useless when "covering" PE lessons. He refereed football matches never moving from the half way line - smoking a cigarette and more often than not holding an umbrella. Bit of a sad character he seemed to live for his Austin Cambridge.
Lawson the history teacher was OK - I always remembered his graphic for the great fire of London - it took half a lesson to draw it.
Hollingsworth was a decent guy until he was on the football pitch where he turned into a pathetic bully - he had a bullet shot and was happy trying to kick the "s**t" out of 14yr olds.
My best contact from those days was Patrick Rudman - the hippie styled English Teacher (he had gone to school at Dartford Grammar when Mick Jagger had just started there) whose nickname I recall was "Lurch". Patrick was a good cricketer, I later played with him at Old Dartfordians and a very decent football coach. Paradoxically as a roll your own fags, Carlsberg Special Brew six pack drinking, fruit machine addict he later managed Darenth Heathside in the Metropolitan and Greater London Leagues pretty successfully.
I remember other teacher names like Upton, Moyle, Parker, "Pinhead" Smith, the notorious Bruce. The latter was an unlikeable specimen operating as a passably efficient Physics & Chemistry teacher. His notoriety arose from his divorce when in the local and I believe the national press he was identified as an alleged drinker, who allegedly rarely washed and allegedly had not cut his toe nails in over 20/25yrs. Ugh
The best teacher there was guy well before your time - a geography teacher by the name of Cartwright who about 6ft 6 was an eminently likeable guy. I have never known anyone not only so passionate about his subject but also able to communicate and spread that passion to others.
Two names I annoyingly cannot remember - one was the Applied Mathematics Teacher who was absolutely brilliant. The problem was he had a photographic memory and he used to throw endless bloody solutions on the blackboard which took me about a week to work how the hell he had gotten there.
The other was a Chemistry Teacher (may have been called Lewis) who also took Religious Education. An immensely quiet almost shy individual he was absolutely brilliant at opening up a serious adult debate on the religious and social issues of the day.
It was a decent school in a very nice if isolated location. I thoroughly enjoyed it there.
Well it's very gratifying to know that one of the most intellectual posters on this forum was educated at the same humble establishment as myself!
Lawson was of course the infamous "Uncle Tutters", although I'm surprised you said he was OK because in my time everyone (Percy included) thought he was barking mad!
Bruce was known by the nickname Boot, and there was another physics teacher who was known by all as Gaffer. I remember Pinhead very well, but I think Lewis was before my time. Hammershlag (? Spelling) was the main chemistry teacher in my era.
I too absolutely enjoyed my time there and have many fond memories.
Yes Hammerschlag was a bit of a character, American if I remember rightly, there was an English teacher, horrible man Jacobs I think his name was, hated him. Daley was the art teacher, barely said a word in the 5 years I was there. Blimey I went to the same school as Grapevine! It was a great school, great memories and still close friends with my group from back then.
I cannot believe it - after all these years. Dartford Technical High School, Wilmington.
I preceded most of you guys 1960-1968. Though as "an old boy" I did come back to coach the school football 2nd XI for a short period probably 71/72.
I joined the year after a certain Keith Richards was asked "to pursue alternative arrangements".
Mountjoy always said once you learned to speak French in her pronunciation style - you would never have problem in France. Like hell - no one understood a bloody word.
Percy Black was a vicious self important little bugger suffering from "short man syndrome". He would be prosecuted for assault today.
He was late for a lesson one day, rushed into the classroom, went to rush out again saying "I'll be here in a minute" - I simply commented, as he went out the door "Well you are here now" , at which point he rushed back in made me stand up (I was about a foot taller even then) and promptly slapped me round the face "for my cheek!. That said he was decent teacher and "off campus" was quite a character.
Jessie James was hilariously useless when "covering" PE lessons. He refereed football matches never moving from the half way line - smoking a cigarette and more often than not holding an umbrella. Bit of a sad character he seemed to live for his Austin Cambridge.
Lawson the history teacher was OK - I always remembered his graphic for the great fire of London - it took half a lesson to draw it.
Hollingsworth was a decent guy until he was on the football pitch where he turned into a pathetic bully - he had a bullet shot and was happy trying to kick the "s**t" out of 14yr olds.
My best contact from those days was Patrick Rudman - the hippie styled English Teacher (he had gone to school at Dartford Grammar when Mick Jagger had just started there) whose nickname I recall was "Lurch". Patrick was a good cricketer, I later played with him at Old Dartfordians and a very decent football coach. Paradoxically as a roll your own fags, Carlsberg Special Brew six pack drinking, fruit machine addict he later managed Darenth Heathside in the Metropolitan and Greater London Leagues pretty successfully.
I remember other teacher names like Upton, Moyle, Parker, "Pinhead" Smith, the notorious Bruce. The latter was an unlikeable specimen operating as a passably efficient Physics & Chemistry teacher. His notoriety arose from his divorce when in the local and I believe the national press he was identified as an alleged drinker, who allegedly rarely washed and allegedly had not cut his toe nails in over 20/25yrs. Ugh
The best teacher there was guy well before your time - a geography teacher by the name of Cartwright who about 6ft 6 was an eminently likeable guy. I have never known anyone not only so passionate about his subject but also able to communicate and spread that passion to others.
Two names I annoyingly cannot remember - one was the Applied Mathematics Teacher who was absolutely brilliant. The problem was he had a photographic memory and he used to throw endless bloody solutions on the blackboard which took me about a week to work how the hell he had gotten there.
The other was a Chemistry Teacher (may have been called Lewis) who also took Religious Education. An immensely quiet almost shy individual he was absolutely brilliant at opening up a serious adult debate on the religious and social issues of the day.
It was a decent school in a very nice if isolated location. I thoroughly enjoyed it there.
Well it's very gratifying to know that one of the most intellectual posters on this forum was educated at the same humble establishment as myself!
Lawson was of course the infamous "Uncle Tutters", although I'm surprised you said he was OK because in my time everyone (Percy included) thought he was barking mad!
Bruce was known by the nickname Boot, and there was another physics teacher who was known by all as Gaffer. I remember Pinhead very well, but I think Lewis was before my time. Hammershlag (? Spelling) was the main chemistry teacher in my era.
I too absolutely enjoyed my time there and have many fond memories.
Yes Hammerschlag was a bit of a character, American if I remember rightly, there was an English teacher, horrible man Jacobs I think his name was, hated him. Daley was the art teacher, barely said a word in the 5 years I was there. Blimey I went to the same school as Grapevine! It was a great school, great memories and still close friends with my group from back then.
Old Hamish was Canadian actually and was indeed quite a character as I discovered when I did Chemistry A level.
Jacobs was known by all and sundry as Pongo. He had a somewhat pompous nature which gave us kids limitless opportunities to take the micky, which we did relentlessly!
Daley was a kindly man who called all us lot "my friend" and dished out an incredible amount of A grades on term reports.
I'd like to add metalwork teacher Pestle to the long list of eccentrics. He reminded me of that guy with the funny eyes in the Laurel and Hardy movies. If I ever bump into any of my old classmates, I'll greet them with Pestle's enduring catch phrase - "Where's yer overalls?!"
Blimey it's strange what age you put on people, never thought I was old enough to be a father to you lot, come to think of it I had a milk round in Brampton Road
I moved about a bit during and after my parents divorce in 1979
72-75 Horn Park primary (Eltham) 75-79 Middle Park Primary (Eltham, Billy Bonds and Boy Georges' old school) 79 (1 month) Conway Primary (Plumstead) 79 (2 months) Goldbeaters Primary (Burnt Oak, North London, lived with grandparents) 79 (1 month) Grahame Park Secondary (Mill Hill, North London) 79-84 Abbey Wood
I cannot believe it - after all these years. Dartford Technical High School, Wilmington.
I preceded most of you guys 1960-1968. Though as "an old boy" I did come back to coach the school football 2nd XI for a short period probably 71/72.
I joined the year after a certain Keith Richards was asked "to pursue alternative arrangements".
Mountjoy always said once you learned to speak French in her pronunciation style - you would never have problem in France. Like hell - no one understood a bloody word.
Percy Black was a vicious self important little bugger suffering from "short man syndrome". He would be prosecuted for assault today.
He was late for a lesson one day, rushed into the classroom, went to rush out again saying "I'll be here in a minute" - I simply commented, as he went out the door "Well you are here now" , at which point he rushed back in made me stand up (I was about a foot taller even then) and promptly slapped me round the face "for my cheek!. That said he was decent teacher and "off campus" was quite a character.
Jessie James was hilariously useless when "covering" PE lessons. He refereed football matches never moving from the half way line - smoking a cigarette and more often than not holding an umbrella. Bit of a sad character he seemed to live for his Austin Cambridge.
Lawson the history teacher was OK - I always remembered his graphic for the great fire of London - it took half a lesson to draw it.
Hollingsworth was a decent guy until he was on the football pitch where he turned into a pathetic bully - he had a bullet shot and was happy trying to kick the "s**t" out of 14yr olds.
My best contact from those days was Patrick Rudman - the hippie styled English Teacher (he had gone to school at Dartford Grammar when Mick Jagger had just started there) whose nickname I recall was "Lurch". Patrick was a good cricketer, I later played with him at Old Dartfordians and a very decent football coach. Paradoxically as a roll your own fags, Carlsberg Special Brew six pack drinking, fruit machine addict he later managed Darenth Heathside in the Metropolitan and Greater London Leagues pretty successfully.
I remember other teacher names like Upton, Moyle, Parker, "Pinhead" Smith, the notorious Bruce. The latter was an unlikeable specimen operating as a passably efficient Physics & Chemistry teacher. His notoriety arose from his divorce when in the local and I believe the national press he was identified as an alleged drinker, who allegedly rarely washed and allegedly had not cut his toe nails in over 20/25yrs. Ugh
The best teacher there was guy well before your time - a geography teacher by the name of Cartwright who about 6ft 6 was an eminently likeable guy. I have never known anyone not only so passionate about his subject but also able to communicate and spread that passion to others.
Two names I annoyingly cannot remember - one was the Applied Mathematics Teacher who was absolutely brilliant. The problem was he had a photographic memory and he used to throw endless bloody solutions on the blackboard which took me about a week to work how the hell he had gotten there.
The other was a Chemistry Teacher (may have been called Lewis) who also took Religious Education. An immensely quiet almost shy individual he was absolutely brilliant at opening up a serious adult debate on the religious and social issues of the day.
It was a decent school in a very nice if isolated location. I thoroughly enjoyed it there.
I think my dad went to Dartford Tech in Wilmington, born 1947, so may well have been there same time as you.
Yea DA 9 -born November 1949 so I assume he would be in the 5th year when I was in the 3rd. Did he stay on into years 6 & 7? Was he into football and cricket? I cannot recall any other Charlton fan all the time I was there.
I had the very unfortunate nick name of "Dobbin" and no it had nothing to do with my physical appearance. I consoled myself with the thought my footballing hero Eddie Firmani was known as the "Golden Turkey".
You never how things will work out. I can only have just got through the 11+ as, (living the other side of Bexleyheath near Leary & Firmani's old "digs") I went past Bexley Erith Tech. (for 7 bloody years). I can have only taken up a spare capacity at DTHS. As a BETHS reject it was a 40 minute bus ride and a 10/15 minute walk to and from school.
Initially I found it a ruddy nightmare in the middle of winter, trudging up a country lane to Leyton Cross, in the snow, ice and rain in the dark, with a school bag loaded with books & homework and invariably a sports bag to catch the "401" home but with the Old Wilmington Hall still standing it was a great location.
I did love my sport so academically was a lazy bugger but for me something luckily clicked after a couple of years - we all "work it out" in our own way. The 11+ was a crap test.
LazyeMet - "Tutters" must have deteriorated. He did operate in his own little world - hence he spent half a lesson on a great fire of London graphic while we did absolutely sod all. I can still see this bespectacled rotund little man stood there beaming as if he had painted the bloody Mona Lisa.
I met Mike Wesson but Gavin Russell was our Head of PE, a decent footballer (for Wisbech in the Southern League) but a crap coach. I nearly stopped playing because of him.
In my brief informal "old boy" coaching spell there (maybe 70/71) I recall players such as Richie Holman, Len Davies, John Wolstenholme, Chris Proctor, Peter Bryant, Bill Stoneham, Ian Bullock, Steve Marsh, George Carpenter, Stephen Baldock, Peter Dunn - I have no idea what years they were in.
Yea DA 9 -born November 1949 so I assume he would be in the 5th year when I was in the 3rd. Did he stay on into years 6 & 7? Was he into football and cricket? I cannot recall any other Charlton fan all the time I was there.
I had the very unfortunate nick name of "Dobbin" and no it had nothing to do with my physical appearance. I consoled myself with the thought my footballing hero Eddie Firmani was known as the "Golden Turkey".
Went to Upton House in Hackney. Used to watch Spurs with school mates. Went to Charlton one Saturday in about 1962 and have been going ever since. Must be a glory hunter.
Comments
I had Percy for physics too which would have been in my 4th year starting in the summer of 76 (what a summer) until Jan 77 when I left for Stockport.
Strangely enough after all these years, I can still remember the first few names on my class register. Braund, Clark, Corrie, Cotteral, Davies, Green and Grix. Tye, Wheeler and Wooledge are some other names I remember, any of them ring a bell although I think I was one year below you?
I can't for the life of me remember my history teacher but a Robinson with a lisp certainly doesn't ring any bells.
I preceded most of you guys 1960-1968. Though as "an old boy" I did come back to coach the school football 2nd XI for a short period probably 71/72.
I joined the year after a certain Keith Richards was asked "to pursue alternative arrangements".
Mountjoy always said once you learned to speak French in her pronunciation style - you would never have problem in France. Like hell - no one understood a bloody word.
Percy Black was a vicious self important little bugger suffering from "short man syndrome". He would be prosecuted for assault today.
He was late for a lesson one day, rushed into the classroom, went to rush out again saying "I'll be here in a minute" - I simply commented, as he went out the door "Well you are here now" , at which point he rushed back in made me stand up (I was about a foot taller even then) and promptly slapped me round the face "for my cheek!. That said he was decent teacher and "off campus" was quite a character.
Jessie James was hilariously useless when "covering" PE lessons. He refereed football matches never moving from the half way line - smoking a cigarette and more often than not holding an umbrella. Bit of a sad character he seemed to live for his Austin Cambridge.
Lawson the history teacher was OK - I always remembered his graphic for the great fire of London - it took half a lesson to draw it.
Hollingsworth was a decent guy until he was on the football pitch where he turned into a pathetic bully - he had a bullet shot and was happy trying to kick the "s**t" out of 14yr olds.
My best contact from those days was Patrick Rudman - the hippie styled English Teacher (he had gone to school at Dartford Grammar when Mick Jagger had just started there) whose nickname I recall was "Lurch". Patrick was a good cricketer, I later played with him at Old Dartfordians and a very decent football coach. Paradoxically as a roll your own fags, Carlsberg Special Brew six pack drinking, fruit machine addict he later managed Darenth Heathside in the Metropolitan and Greater London Leagues pretty successfully.
I remember other teacher names like Upton, Moyle, Parker, "Pinhead" Smith, the notorious Bruce. The latter was an unlikeable specimen operating as a passably efficient Physics & Chemistry teacher. His notoriety arose from his divorce when in the local and I believe the national press he was identified as an alleged drinker, who allegedly rarely washed and allegedly had not cut his toe nails in over 20/25yrs. Ugh
The best teacher there was guy well before your time - a geography teacher by the name of Cartwright who about 6ft 6 was an eminently likeable guy. I have never known anyone not only so passionate about his subject but also able to communicate and spread that passion to others.
Two names I annoyingly cannot remember - one was the Applied Mathematics Teacher who was absolutely brilliant. The problem was he had a photographic memory and he used to throw endless bloody solutions on the blackboard which took me about a week to work how the hell he had gotten there.
The other was a Chemistry Teacher (may have been called Lewis) who also took Religious Education. An immensely quiet almost shy individual he was absolutely brilliant at opening up a serious adult debate on the religious and social issues of the day.
It was a decent school in a very nice if isolated location. I thoroughly enjoyed it there.
The one lasting memory I have was the telegraph pole incident up the side of the sports hall (where the teachers and kids met up for a smoke). A lad, Gibbs I think his name was, was throwing a length of metal up in to the wires and every so often it would cause a massive shower of bright orange sparks. This obviously resulted in a large gathering of kids until there was an almighty bang, smoke and sparks were flying everywhere as the lines crashed down to the ground thrashing about, which was followed by about 100 kids fleeing for their lives in all directions. From memory, either the phone lines or power was out in Wilmington and the surrounding areas till the following day!
Lawson was of course the infamous "Uncle Tutters", although I'm surprised you said he was OK because in my time everyone (Percy included) thought he was barking mad!
Bruce was known by the nickname Boot, and there was another physics teacher who was known by all as Gaffer. I remember Pinhead very well, but I think Lewis was before my time. Hammershlag (? Spelling) was the main chemistry teacher in my era.
I too absolutely enjoyed my time there and have many fond memories.
Hurstmere Secondary School: 1995 - 2000
North West Kent College: 2000 - 2003
Jacobs was known by all and sundry as Pongo. He had a somewhat pompous nature which gave us kids limitless opportunities to take the micky, which we did relentlessly!
Daley was a kindly man who called all us lot "my friend" and dished out an incredible amount of A grades on term reports.
I'd like to add metalwork teacher Pestle to the long list of eccentrics. He reminded me of that guy with the funny eyes in the Laurel and Hardy movies. If I ever bump into any of my old classmates, I'll greet them with Pestle's enduring catch phrase - "Where's yer overalls?!"
Me and @JohnBoyUK were both Brampton, 83-87, or the golden generation as the school referred to it
Went to Brampton with the legend that is @Jack Charlton
72-75 Horn Park primary (Eltham)
75-79 Middle Park Primary (Eltham, Billy Bonds and Boy Georges' old school)
79 (1 month) Conway Primary (Plumstead)
79 (2 months) Goldbeaters Primary (Burnt Oak, North London, lived with grandparents)
79 (1 month) Grahame Park Secondary (Mill Hill, North London)
79-84 Abbey Wood
I had the very unfortunate nick name of "Dobbin" and no it had nothing to do with my physical appearance. I consoled myself with the thought my footballing hero Eddie Firmani was known as the "Golden Turkey".
You never how things will work out. I can only have just got through the 11+ as, (living the other side of Bexleyheath near Leary & Firmani's old "digs") I went past Bexley Erith Tech. (for 7 bloody years). I can have only taken up a spare capacity at DTHS. As a BETHS reject it was a 40 minute bus ride and a 10/15 minute walk to and from school.
Initially I found it a ruddy nightmare in the middle of winter, trudging up a country lane to Leyton Cross, in the snow, ice and rain in the dark, with a school bag loaded with books & homework and invariably a sports bag to catch the "401" home but with the Old Wilmington Hall still standing it was a great location.
I did love my sport so academically was a lazy bugger but for me something luckily clicked after a couple of years - we all "work it out" in our own way. The 11+ was a crap test.
LazyeMet - "Tutters" must have deteriorated. He did operate in his own little world - hence he spent half a lesson on a great fire of London graphic while we did absolutely sod all. I can still see this bespectacled rotund little man stood there beaming as if he had painted the bloody Mona Lisa.
I met Mike Wesson but Gavin Russell was our Head of PE, a decent footballer (for Wisbech in the Southern League) but a crap coach. I nearly stopped playing because of him.
In my brief informal "old boy" coaching spell there (maybe 70/71) I recall players such as Richie Holman, Len Davies, John Wolstenholme, Chris Proctor, Peter Bryant, Bill Stoneham, Ian Bullock, Steve Marsh, George Carpenter, Stephen Baldock, Peter Dunn - I have no idea what years they were in.